Garment supporter



A B-i128, 1942. I D. VISCONTI ETAL GARMENT SUPPORTER Fiied April 5, 1939 Patented Apr. 28, 1942 GARMENT SUPPORTER Daniel Visconti and Esther R. Visconti, South Weymouth, Mass.

Application April 5, 1939, Serial No. 266,088

4 Claims.

metallic material; the garters are designed to be readily fastened and unfastened; and, the garters when fastened will not tear the stockings or cause runs even under heavy strain.

It is further an object of our invention to provide a trolley action garter for girdles in which male and female fastening elements are freely slidable on short loops of elastic tape fixed to the girdle and which when fastened to the stocking may be quickly unfastened by mere-- ly using one finger which is slipped into the loop of elastic and moved outwards thereby tilting the male element to allow its release from the female element.

Further objects and advantages of the improvements will be more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention as disclosed in the attached drawing, in which;

Fig. l is a front view showing trolley action garters suspended from a girdle and fastened to the stockings;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation showing the garter of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the female fastening element;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the female fastening element;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated 66 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the male fastening element;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the garter element shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the manner of fastening the garter to the stocking;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a garter in which the loop of elastic tape lies straight instead of being divergently spread as in Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated l|H in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of a modified arrangement of the garter;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated |3-l3 in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a still further modification;

} Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken on'the plane indicated |5|5 in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a further modification;

Fig. 1'7 is a side view of a modified form of the female element.

Although garters based upon the improvements herein disclosed may be adaptable either for use'by men or women, certain of the advantages may be more desirable to women, and I have therefore illustrated in Fig. 1 the use of trolley action garters fixed to the'bottom of a girdle H] for holding up the stockings l2. In this form a loop of elastic tape M is fastened at its ends to the lower edge of the girdle, and the fastened ends are spread apart'so that the two folds of tape are divergent with respect to each other. The details of the female garter fastening element are disclosed in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The element [6 is generally flat and is provided with a slot l8 for the tape l4, and with a semi-circular opening 20 at its lower end. The underside of the part 15 may have a recess 22 which will facilitate gripping the part with the fingers in fastening the stocking. The lower end 24 is offset outwards to a small extent as indicated in Fig. 6, and the upper end 26 is reduced inthickness on the underside as indicated in Fig. 6. The male fastening element 28 of Figs. 7 and 8 is formed with a 'slot30 to receive the tape, and

. with an inwardly directed offset tongue 32 at the lower end. Theopening 34 in-the body'of the part 28 isjprcvided to reduce the weight of the part and also to assist in gripping the part. As indicated in Fig. 3, the parts l6 and 28 are freely slidable on the tape, and in order to fasten the garter to the stocking it is only necessary to pull the top edge of the stocking over the outer face of the bottom fastening element l6, and to insert the tongue 32 of the top member 28 into the opening 20, thereby carrying with it a portion of the stocking, and when the garter elements are both flattened by the tension of the tape the stocking will be securely held. It will be appreciated from Fig. 3 that the tape at the point indicated 36 will lie below the level of the inner face of the element I6, and that the tongue 32, by reason of the offset 24, will lie substantially in the plane of the member IS. The garter will therefore be substantially flat. In order to open the garter it is only necessary to insert the finger in the loop of tape which will raise the male element to an angular position with respect to the female member, in which position it will release itself.

In Fig. 3 it should be noted that the male element is at the bottom of the loop of tape, and the tension of the tape will therefore prevent the garter from becoming unfastened.

In Figs. 10 and 11 the tape 40 is in the form of a loop, the ends of which are not spread as in Fig. 2. The male element 42 engages the female element 44 in a similar manner to that previously described. The female element 44 is shown to be flat instead of having the recess 26 and offset 24 of Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The simpler form may be used if desired.

In Fig. 12 a modified arrangement is shown in which the loop of elastic tape 46 carries the slidable male element 48. A separate loop of nonelastic tape 50 is secured to elastic tape at 52 and suspends the freely slidable female element 54. The garter is used in the same manner as above described.

In Figs. 14 and 15 a further modification is disclosed in which the loop of elastic tape 54 carries the male element 56 and a tab 58 for aid in opening the garter. The double tape passes through the slot 60 at the upper end of the female element 62.

In Fig. 16 a loop of tape 64 carries the female element 66 while a separate loop of the tape 68 carries the male element 10. This form requires more elastic than the form of Fig. 2 but may be found desirable in certain cases.

It is preferable to make the garter elements of suitable molded plastic materials and if this is done the male element 12 as in Fig. 17 may be reinforced as at 14 so as to prevent breaking of the offset tongue.

In all forms the provision of the semicircular opening in the female element to receive the tongue of the male element rather than a straight slot is found to be desirable as it tends to prevent ripping of the stocking. The half circle will distribute strain more evenly.

We claim:

1. A trolley action garter for girdles comprising a short length of elastic tape, the ends of which are secured to the girdle in spread apart relationship, male and female fastening elements each having a single slot to receive the tape whereby said elements are freely slidable on the loop of tape, the outer male element having an inwardly offset tongue and the inner female element having an opening to receive the tongue, the vertical dimension of said opening being less than the vertical dimension of the tongue whereby said elements must be angularly disposed for fastening and unfastening, said elements being adapted to support a stocking by gripping a portion of the stocking therebetween.

2. A trolley action garter for girdles comprising a short length of elastic tape, the ends of which are secured in spread apart relationship to the girdle, male and female fastening elements freely slidable on said tape, the outer male element having an inwardly offset tongue at its lower end, the inner female element having an outwardly offset portion at its lower end and an opening formed in said offset, said opening having a vertical dimension less than the vertical dimension of said tongue, whereby said elements must be positioned in angular relationship for fastening and unfastening, said ofl'set tongue and offset portion of said elements being designed to cause said elements to lie substantially flat when fastened to the stocking.

3. A trolley action garter for girdles comprising a short length of elastic tape, the ends of which are secured in spread apart relationship to the girdle, male and female fastening elements, each of which is provided with a slot at the upper end thereof adapted to receive the tape, whereby said elements are freely slidable on the loop of tape, the outer male element having an inwardly offset tongue, the inner female element having an opening adjacent its lower end adapted to receive the tongue when said elements are positioned in angular relationship, said elements being adapted to lie substantially flat when fastened to the stocking, the vertical dimension of the male element from the tongue to the slot for the tape being less than the vertical dimension of the female element between the opening and the slot for the tape, whereby when fastened to the garter the outer male element is at the lower end of the loop of tape and transmits substantially all the strain to which the fastening elements are subjected when in use.

4. A trolley action garter for girdles comprising a short length of elastic tape the ends of which are secured in spread apart relationship to the girdle, an outer male fastening element having a slot at its end adapted to receive the tape whereby said element is freely slidable on the tape, an inner female element supported from said elastic tape by a separate loop of non-elastic tape, said male element having an inwardly di rected offset tongue at its lower end, said female element having an opening at its lower end to receive said tongue, said opening being smaller than said tongue in vertical dimension, whereby said elements must be disposed at an angle for fastening and unfastening.

DANIEL VISCON'II. ESTHER R. VISCONTI. 

